Baraja: "These are three valuable points"

Valencia CF coach Rubén Baraja talked to the media after the 1-0 win over Real Madrid, and addressed both matters on the pitch and allegations of racist chants from the stands.

Has survival been achieved?

No. We have not ended the situation and don't know if 40 points will be enough for teams to be safe. We will be safe when the table says so. I'm not going to do the maths. Having won two games in a row, taken a draw against Villarreal... we have to continue and try to get points so that Valencia CF can mathematically stay in the Primera División. We have work still to do and effort still required. It's not easy and we have to continue concentrating on what's important.

Analysing the game

The game was good. We were compact and solid. We had several counterattacks. Then Real Madrid played their game and we suffered. Things happened afterwards that stopped the game a lot. We reached the end with the possibility of winning the game and we achieved it.

The influence of Mestalla

Before, we talked about the importance of Mestalla pushing us on. Winning today was very important but doing it when Mestalla turns 100 years old, and against Real Madrid, has great merit. It was a great job by the players and our fans were amazing as always. I have experienced many matches against Real Madrid and they are always special. These are three valuable points and I hope that the fans can enjoy the victory a little.

Real Madrid's form

In the end, Real Madrid lost the chance of getting to the Champions League final the other day, and it put them in a difficult situation. We knew we were going to come up against a great side. They can change players and better players come in. When they took a step forward we had to suffer, but we reached the end with the chance to score the second on a counter. We didn't do that and they had several chances. Courtois also made several very good saves.

Racist chants heard at Mestalla

After what happens in a match, there are certain things that do not conform to reality due to the emotions that you have at the end. Valencia CF condemn any racist insults. We are a model group of fans. There were 46,000 people who they behaved as they should. If someone made a comment that is able to be investigated,  the club will do so. Valencia CF fans  have always behaved exquisitely everywhere. There might be someone who does something wrong, but we do not agree with any racist comments. There is another thing that can happen, which was experienced during the game, where there were derogatory gestures made. If we ask for respect, we must also do the same for the other team. These situations can be avoided. Mutual respect.

Vinicius Jr.

I get the feeling that if, on the one hand, respect is requested for Real Madrid, respect must also be requested for our fans. When you cause this situation to arise, you are encouraging the problem to not be solved. What really matters to me is that you get the feeling that we haven't played a football match.

If that situation has occurred, we are going to investigate it because we denounced it from the start. We are a civilised club and fanbase. We ask for respect for our fans. It might be one fan, but 46,000 people can't be judged on this. This controversy is not going to let us enjoy the moment. This is not good for Real Madrid or for Valencia.

Gestures from Vinicius Jr to the stands

We all have a lot of tension. These types of gestures are also very condemnable. Do not do the same thing you complain about to our fans. He will apologise because he is a great player (Vinícius) and we also apologise if he has been offended, but it is evident that if you make that gesture to somebody's face, they will get hot-tempered.

I would like it if people talked about football. You have to really focus on what is really important, which is the football side, but logically things happened during the game and you have to talk about that.

Giving opportunities to young players

Today it was Diego López who was lucky enough to score the goal. I'm happy for them because they're helping the team, because they're being decisive with the goals they're scoring and because of what it means in terms of points. I'm happy, but I'm containing myself. We have to enjoy ourselves, but think about Mallorca.